Hayden Panettiere is the April 2023 cover star of Women’s Health magazine and got candid in the new interview.
The 33-year-old lifelong actress — who’s mourning the loss of brother Jansen — bared her toned tummy as she graced the glossy and revealed she had a breast reduction in November 2022.
Discussing the choice to go under the knife eight years after giving birth to daughter Kaya in 2014, she said, ‘My body still didn’t feel like it belonged to me.’
The Scream star added, ‘I don’t think there’s anything wrong with somebody who wants to tweak something if it makes them feel more confident.’
The blonde bombshell continued, ‘That’s all I have to say about it. My confidence is back.’
Opening up: Hayden Panettiere is the April 2023 cover star of Women’s Health magazine and got candid in the new interview
The Heroes alum took to a rocky beach to shoot photos for the stunning spread, which showed her smiling and looking confident.
The entertainer, who began acting at age four, donned high-waisted black bikini briefs with a side cutout in some snaps.
And she flashed the flesh as she coupled it with a coordinating long-sleeved turtleneck top with thick black stripes.
In another outtake she was clad in a cropped hoodie with fuzzy terry cloth panels as she revealed her taut midriff.
The new magazine cover is tied to the upcoming release of Scream VI in which the actress will revive her role as Kirby.
But before she rejoined the franchise, the star spent time rehabilitating after an opioid and alcohol addiction.
It began at age 22 when she relocated from Los Angeles to Tennessee to shoot the show Nashville.
‘I was being told how to be and how to live by so many people in my life,’ Hayden said about how the substance abuse started.
‘I wanted certain decisions to be my own, and nobody could stop me. What I put in my body was like an act of defiance.’
Flaunt it: The lifelong actress bared her toned tummy as she graced the glossy and revealed she had a breast reduction in November 2022
Reclaiming her body: Discussing the choice to go under the knife years after giving birth to daughter Kaya in 2014, she said, ‘My body still didn’t feel like it belonged to me’
The performer, who has a Ukrainian background, went on to say, ‘Some people work out. I wish that was my coping mechanism.’
‘Alcohol might make you feel better in that moment, but it makes you feel so much worse the next day, and then you do it all over again.’
Panettiere turned to the bottle to help deal with postpartum depression and she described the experience as being characterized with feelings of ‘extreme hopelessness.’
The depression was compounded with reoccurring effects of a former neck injury that led her to also use opioids.
‘I was in a lot of pain,’ she recalled. ‘My tolerance got so high so fast that it became a problem.’
Speaking openly about that time in her life, the mother-of-one admitted, ‘I should have gone on antidepressants [to cope with the postpartum depression], but you have to find the right one that works for you.’
‘They don’t mix well with alcohol, and I wasn’t ready to stop drinking.’
When she entered rehab in 2015 she said it was her idea: ‘I was the one who put myself in the first treatment center. I was drowning.’
Comeback: The Heroes alum took to a rocky beach to shoot photos for the stunning spread, which showed her smiling and looking confident
Upon turning 30, the household name found herself in another 12-step program.
‘My body was like, “enough,”‘ she explained. ‘I hit 30. My face was swollen. I had jaundice. My eyes were yellow. I had to go to a liver specialist. I was holding on to weight that wasn’t normally there. My hair was thin and coming out in clumps.’
Eight months of working on herself paid off and she was finally ready to return to work after a four-year hiatus.
‘A big part of my therapy has been living in forgiveness,’ she noted. ‘A step in the 12-step program is making amends.
‘If somebody wants to be a good person and to be the best version of themselves, they can choose to do that.’
Hayden, who shares Kaya with ex Wladimir Klitschko, is currently on a press tour to promote the sixth installment of the popular Scream franchise, which comes out Friday, March 10.
Back to work: The new magazine cover is tied to the upcoming release of Scream VI in which the actress will revive her role as Kirby
Closeup: Hayden embraced her new healthy lease on life in the natural-looking snapshots
On Monday Panettiere forced back tears when she was asked about her late brother during her first TV interview since his unexpected death.
Panettiere who appeared on Good Morning America on Monday to promote her new movie Scream VI, became emotional GMA’s Michael Strahan offered his condolences to her at the end of their interview.
‘Thank you,’ she said tearfully, placing a hand on her heart. ‘He’s right here with me,’ she added as her voice cracked.
The actress’s brother Jansen Panettiere, 28, was found dead on February 19 at his apartment in Nyack, New York.
Jansen died ‘from an enlarged heart’ according to a statement issued by his relatives, who say it was confirmed by the Medical Examiner.
Heartbreaking: Panettiere fought back tears on Monday as she spoke about the death of her brother, Jansen
Panettiere’s appearance on Good Morning America on Monday is her first since the sudden death of her brother.
She put on a brave face as she arrived at the GMA studios in New York City and looked chic in a cream shirt which was tucked into a pair of black flared trousers.
She boosted her height in a pair of chunky gold heels and hid her eyes behind a pair of dark sunglasses.
Panettiere bundled up in a beige fur trim coat as she flashed a smile and waved at onlookers as she arrived.
The actress smiled and laughed with Strahan during the interview about her new movie – the latest in the slasher Scream franchise.
At the end of the interview, Strahan said: ‘Before we go, we want to just tell you we’re sorry about the passing of your brother Jansen.’
When Panettiere became emotional and said that he was right there with her, Strahan responded: ‘Always.’
Panettiere recently paid tribute to her beloved younger brother’s ‘warmth and compassion for others.’
In a statement, the family said: ‘Jansen’s heart could be seen in his eyes, and his charm in his brilliant, engaging smile; his soul in his masterful and revealing paintings, and the joy of life in his dry wit.
‘His charisma, warmth, compassion for others, and his creative spirit will live forever in our hearts and in the hearts of all whom he encountered.
‘Though it offers little solace, the Medical Examiner reported Jansen’s sudden passing was due to cardiomegaly (enlarged heart), coupled with aortic valve complications.
Panettiere’s appearance on GMA Monday is her first since the death of her brother
‘We sincerely appreciate the outpouring of love and support towards our family as we navigate this unthinkable loss, and ask that we be gifted our privacy during this time of mourning.
‘We love you so much Jansen and you will be in our hearts forever.’
According to a police report, Jansen’s body was discovered in his home by three friends who found him ‘unresponsive’ in a chair and desperately tried to revive him with CPR.
Upon arrival, the friends – who have been identified as Benjamin Brown, Joe Fails, and Lars Arianti – found Jansen ‘sitting upright in a chair unresponsive’ and desperately began performing CPR in the hopes of reviving him.
Fails phoned 911, while one of the others got in touch with Jansen and Hayden’s father, Alan ‘Skip’ Panettiere, who arrived on the scene as Brown was doing chest compressions.
Skip told EMTs that he had spoken to his son ‘via telephone the night before’ and that he had ‘sounded okay’.
The police report was released to the public just hours after a source close to Hayden revealed that she had been left ‘inconsolable’ by the loss of her only brother and ‘best friend’ – who had been battling ‘terrible anxiety and depression’ before his death.
According to the insider, Jansen had been ‘having a rough time lately with his career’ and felt as though he was ‘being dragged in so many directions’.
His final photo, posted to Instagram on February 6, showed him grinning broadly in the small town. ‘Graffiti is illegal,’ he captioned the picture.
Jansen reportedly died ‘from an enlarged heart’ according to a statement issued by his relatives, who say it was confirmed by the Medical Examiner
His girlfriend, ICU nurse Catherine Michie, commented: ‘The law can’t stop Jansen Panettiere.’
Panettiere, an actor and graffiti artist, was struggling with his mental health.
‘Hayden is just inconsolable. He was her best friend and her only brother. He was such a nice guy but he lived on the edge.’
The siblings were last seen together less than a month before his death. Jansen shared a picture of Hayden cutting his hair on January 24.
‘Not the first haircut she’s tried to give me,’ he joked in the caption.
He also posted a throwback of the duo from a rafting trip on November 4, 2022.
He shared his last post over the weekend, featuring a new snap of his graffiti artwork.
On January 12, Jansen had also shared a series of images of himself in a photobooth with Michie.
The image collection showed the pair beaming happily for the cameras with their heads together, while one snap captured them sharing a sweet kiss.
He captioned the post, simply: ‘My babe.’
Hayden and Jansen were born to Lesley R. Vogel, a former soap opera actress, and Alan Lee Panettiere, a captain in the Fire Department of New York City.
Jansen (seen with his sister left in 2008 and right in 2013) passed away in Nyack, New York
Jansen, who was five years younger than his sister, followed Hayden’s footsteps into acting. His IMDb lists the 2022 comedy Love and Love Not as his last role.
‘His charisma, warmth, compassion for others, and his creative spirit will live forever in our hearts and in the hearts of all whom he encountered.
‘Though it offers little solace, the Medical Examiner reported Jansen’s sudden passing was due to cardiomegaly (enlarged heart), coupled with aortic valve complications.
‘We sincerely appreciate the outpouring of love and support towards our family as we navigate this unthinkable loss, and ask that we be gifted our privacy during this time of mourning.
‘We love you so much Jansen and you will be in our hearts forever.’
A source told Daily Mail last week that Panettiere ‘is in the grieving process right now, but the reports that she is headed for a relapse are utter and complete BS.’
